Letters
to the Editor

Write a Letter to the Editor

Wednesday, September 16, 1998

Fasi deserves chance to be next governor

Today, I enjoy the fruits of Frank Fasi's many projects when he was mayor -- the parks, modern street lighting, the Waikiki promenade, Hotel and Fort Street malls, the new Chinatown, a garbage system that is easier to use and more sanitary, TheBus and my Kukui Plaza lease rent, which is $12 a year, for 50 years.

Please vote for Fasi for governor, the man working for the people. He has the ability, vision and experience.

Clement S. Lee

Telling Fasi to quit politics is wasted effort

That supporters of Linda Lingle are out of touch with Hawaii politics and history was made clear again by the screed by Robert Kelsey (View Point, Sept. 4), who called on Frank Fasi to retire from politics. No one can tell Fasi when to quit and expect that he will listen.

Beyond that, there are some strange distortions of fact in Kelsey's article. For example:

He tells us that in the 1994 campaign, when Fasi ran for governor on his own Best Party ticket, "the voters didn't think the Best Party was best and flatly rejected it and Fasi." But Fasi came in second, while Republican candidate Pat Saiki came in third. Wasn't that an even greater rejection of the GOP and Saiki?

Later in his commentary, Kelsey writes that Fasi "never lost an election until an unknown woman came out of nowhere and soundly defeated him." Eileen Anderson was far from an unknown person in 1980. She had been director of the Department of Budget and Finance for several years before running for mayor. This is like trying to claim that current Budget Director Earl Anzai is never discussed in Lingle campaign strategy meetings.

More than that, Fasi had been defeated at least four times in various races before losing to Anderson.

Robert L.R. Miller

Fasi represents the past; Lingle brings fresh start

Frank Fasi, in his bid for governor, is saying things about his past record of 40-plus years. His record shows that he has accomplished a lot. His campaign talks all focus on how his Republican opponent, Linda Lingle, has no record of achievement.

Mr. Fasi, let me refresh your memory. Once upon a time you had no record either. We are no longer talking about the past. It will never come back.

We need someone with vision and fresher ideas for the future. We need a young and vibrant politician who will lead this state into the 21st century. Someone with vision.

We need to give Lingle a chance. She is the only one running for office that can do it. She is our future.

Adrienne L. Wilson-Yamasaki
Wahiawa
(Via the internet)

Lingle's past actions are encouraging for state

The Northwest Airlines pilots' strike brings back memories of the 1994 HGEA-Unit 3 strike. Back then, Linda Lingle was the only mayor in Hawaii to plan into the budget a raise for her employees.

I remember because I was shop steward for my department at UH-Manoa. As someone who walked the picket line, I will always appreciate Lingle's foresight and empathy for the employees under her authority.

Frank Fasi was mayor of Honolulu in 1994, but he didn't plan ahead for his employees. No one else did, either.

I wanted to vote for Lingle then, but I couldn't since I did not live on Maui.

In 1998, it's my turn to show her how much I appreciate her skill, intelligence and good business sense. She will work hard for Hawaii, just like she did for Maui.

Carolyn Martinez Golojuch
Makakilo

It's not true that Koki would drag down Lingle

I found A.A. Smyser's Sept. 1 lamentation over the potential lack of a "moderate" running mate for "moderate" GOP gubernatorial candidate Linda Lingle very interesting. Smyser strongly implies that the GOP is worried about the more "unelectable facets" of itself -- that the "religious right" will be a "terrible drag on the top of the ticket."

As far as Smyser's and the mainland GOP strategists who direct Lingle's campaign are concerned, it suffices for the religious right to contribute their time, money and sweat to the cause, but frankly, they are not really leadership material.

Smyser's desperate call to dump Stan Koki in favor of Michael Liu for the GOP lieutenant governor's position should be considered an embarrassment to island conservatives.

R. Harding Teves

Liu could help Lingle sell Republican ticket

I fully agree with A.A. Smyser's Sept. 1 column, in which he explained that if Linda Lingle is going to be popular with the broader electorate, the Republican Party should openly endorse Mike Liu for lieutenant governor.

As a Christian for many years, I do believe in many of Stan Koki's values. But I am not so naive as to think that the rest of Hawaii's voters, even strong Republicans, can follow someone as polarized as Koki.

In order to draw more votes to the Republican ticket, the party must be willing to throw support behind the candidate most likely to succeed. In my opinion, that would be what I call the "L&L ticket" -- Lingle and Liu.

Shana Fischer
Kailua
(Via the Internet)

Cayetano doesn't deserve medal for investigation

According to David Shapiro's Sept. 12 Volcanic Ash column, Governor Cayetano's decision last year to order an investigation of the Bishop Estate was "a huge political risk that may well combine with voter alarm about the economy to cost him his job." I agree. But I don't agree with Shapiro's implied suggestion that the governor deserves a medal for his actions.

Problems at the Bishop Estate did not develop overnight. Political insiders, like the governor, had known about them, at least generally, for years. Yet Cayetano and his predecessor, along with Supreme Court justices, probate court judges and leaders in the Legislature, did absolutely nothing about them.

These elected and appointed leaders chose not to make waves.

As pleased as I am that the governor finally did what he did, it seems obvious that he never would have acted on his own.

Had the Na Pua group not marched on the Supreme Court, and the "Broken Trust" essay not been published by the Star-Bulletin, it would be business as usual today at the Bishop Estate.

The attorney general would not be calling for the removal of the trustees, the justices would still be selecting trustees and deciding cases involving those same trustees, the Legislature would not have limited the trustees to reasonable compensation, and the probate court would have approved the trustees' most recent flawed accountings.

Randall Roth

Administration has done much for West Hawaii

A friend of mine recently asked me, "What has the Cayetano/Hirono administration done for West Hawaii during the past three and half years?"

Well, I told him, quite a bit:

Built a brand new, well-equipped Kealakehe High School and installed safe, turning lanes at the Konawaena schools for our children.

Is in the process of expanding Konawaena Elementary School to alleviate overcrowding.

Expanded the Kona Airport runway and added terminals to support tourist-related businesses and to stimulate the West Hawaii economy.

Expanded Kona Community Hospital and built the new North Hawaii Community Hospital to upgrade our health care.

All of these things were done on a limited state budget.

My friend then looked at me and replied, "Yeah, I guess it's easier to complain than to try and remember the good things."

So true.

Lawrence W. Cohn
Kailua-Kona, Hawaii

Find gubernatorial candidate who supports family values

From one fellow voter to another -- if you want family values back in our government, find the candidate for governor who truly supports your belief. Look through the "smoke and mirrors." Know whom you support.

Wally Shim

---

Write a
Letter to the Editor

Want to write a letter to the editor? Let all Star-Bulletin readers know what you think. Please keep your letter to about 200 words. You can send it by e-mail to letters@starbulletin.com or you can fill in the online form for a faster response. Or print it and mail it to: Letters to the Editor, P.O. Box 3080, Honolulu, Hawaii 96802. Or fax it to: 523-8509. Always be sure to include your daytime phone number.